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An exceptional rarity. All readily available media from local records are of adults. There is one accepted record of a second year bird from Indiana.
First Cycle
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
January
February
March
April
May
Second Cycle
The change from first to second cycle depends on the timing of the start of the inner primary molt. May/June is used here as an inaccurate / arbitrary cutoff.
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
January
February
March
April
May
Third Cycle
Some rapidly maturing Kelp Gulls may not have a distinctive "third cycle" plumage - appearing as full adults.
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
January
February
March
April
May
Fourth Cycle / Adult
June
An adult Kelp Gull was confirmed breeding with an American Herring Gull on a rooftop in Wisconsin in May 2025, after going unconfirmed at the same location in 2024.
July
Sporadic sightings of an adult Kelp Gull from Sep 2012 - Feb 2016 may have involved one individual wandering between Ontario, Ohio and Pennsylvania. This includes a brief July 2013 sighting from Mohawk Island, Ontario at a waterbird colony (left photo, above).
August
September
October
November
December
January
February
March
April
May
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